Dogs are generally considered senior from around seven, earlier for giant breeds and later for small ones. Nutritional needs change — but not always in the direction people assume.
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The protein myth
For years, senior diets were formulated with reduced protein, on the theory that it protected ageing kidneys.
That advice has been abandoned. Protein restriction does not prevent kidney disease, and healthy older dogs benefit from adequate high-quality protein, because age brings progressive loss of lean muscle mass — sarcopenia — and muscle is what keeps an old dog mobile.
Protein restriction remains appropriate for diagnosed kidney disease, at a level your vet determines. It is not a precaution to take with a healthy dog.
Calories go both ways
Two distinct senior dogs exist and they need opposite things.
The dog who gains weight. Activity declines, metabolic rate drops, and portions do not. This is the more common pattern in the early senior years, and it matters: excess weight accelerates arthritis, reduces mobility, and shortens life.
The dog who loses weight. Common in the later senior years. Digestion and absorption become less efficient, appetite declines, and sense of smell fades. A thin old dog has less reserve for illness and fewer muscles to move with.
Body condition scoring, not age, tells you which dog you have. Check monthly.
What else changes
Sense of smell declines, which matters because dogs decide what to eat by smell. Warming food, or adding a little warm water, increases aroma considerably and restarts many reluctant eaters.
Dental disease is nearly universal by this age, and chewing hurts. A dog who approaches the bowl, starts, and backs off is often in pain rather than fussy. Softening dry food or switching to wet helps, but the mouth still needs treating.
Thirst and kidney function. Older dogs are more prone to dehydration and to kidney disease. Wet food increases water intake substantially. A sudden increase in drinking warrants a vet visit, not a bigger bowl.
Gut function becomes less tolerant of change. Transition foods slowly, and keep the diet consistent.
Joints. Omega-3 fatty acids have the best evidence of any supplement for arthritis, and many senior diets include them at meaningful levels.
Cognition. Diets enriched with antioxidants and medium-chain triglycerides have some evidence for slowing cognitive decline, and there are therapeutic diets formulated for it.
Practical feeding
- Two or three smaller meals rather than one large one
- Weigh the food, and reassess the portion every month against body condition
- Warm it, or add warm water
- Raise the bowl only if it helps. Some dogs with neck or elbow pain are more comfortable; for deep-chested dogs, raised bowls have been associated with increased bloat risk, so it is a judgement rather than a default
- Keep water everywhere, in more bowls than before
- Non-slip mat under the bowl. Old dogs slip, and a dog who has slipped while eating becomes reluctant to eat
Encouraging a dog who will not eat
Before adding tastier food, rule out the reasons a dog stops eating: dental pain, nausea, kidney disease, and medication side effects are top of the list.
Once that is done:
- Warm the food
- Add a spoonful of something aromatic — sardines, plain cooked chicken, a little wet food
- Hand feed the first few mouthfuls
- Feed somewhere quiet, away from other dogs
- Try more, smaller meals
Avoid the trap of endlessly upgrading: a dog who learns that refusing produces roast chicken will hold out for it. Offer, remove after fifteen minutes, offer again later.
Supplements with evidence
Omega-3 (EPA and DHA). Best-supported. Useful for joints, skin, kidneys and cognition. Check the EPA and DHA content, not the total oil.
Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil for Dogs
A marine oil with the omega-3 content stated on the label. Refrigerate after opening — oxidised oil does more harm than good — and ask your vet for a dose by body weight rather than guessing.
Joint supplements. Mixed evidence, very safe, worth an eight-week trial in an arthritic dog alongside — not instead of — weight control and proper pain relief.
Nutramax Cosequin DS Joint Health Supplement
One of the few joint supplements with published research on the specific formulation, from a manufacturer that runs its own quality testing.
Probiotics for digestive upsets, which become more frequent with age.
Purina FortiFlora Canine Probiotic Supplement
Single-serve sachets, highly palatable, widely used for the mild digestive upsets that follow antibiotics, travel or a diet change.
Tell your vet about everything you give. Supplements interact with medications, and older dogs are usually on something.
Therapeutic diets
If your dog is diagnosed with kidney disease, heart disease, liver disease or significant arthritis, a prescription therapeutic diet is often the single most effective intervention available — more effective, in kidney disease, than most medications.
These are formulated precisely and they are not interchangeable with supermarket “senior” food. If your dog will not eat the prescribed one, tell your vet rather than abandoning it; there are usually several options.
And the thing that matters most
Keep them lean, keep them moving, and get the teeth sorted. Those three do more for an old dog’s quality of life than any bag of food, and the first two are free.
